5: Then cometh he to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph 6: Now Jacob's well was there Jesus therefore being wearied with his journey sat thus on the well and it was about the sixth hour [noon] 7: There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water Jesus saith unto her Give me to drink 8: For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat 9: Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him How is it that thou being a Jew askest drink of me which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans 10: Jesus answered and said unto her If thou knewest the gift of God and who it is that saith to thee Give me to drink thou wouldest have asked of Him and He would have given thee Living Water 11: The woman saith unto Him Sir thou hast nothing to draw with and the well is deep from whence then hast thou that Living Water?
12: Art thou greater
than our father Jacob which gave us the well and drank thereof himself and his
children and his cattle? 13: Jesus
answered and said unto her Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again 14: But whosoever drinketh of the water
that I shall give him [Invisible women x’s 3] shall never
thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of
water springing up into everlasting life. 15: The woman saith
unto Him Sir give me this water that I thirst not neither come hither to draw 16: Jesus saith unto her Go call thy
husband and come hither
17: The woman
answered and said I have no husband Jesus said unto her Thou hast
well said I have no husband 18: For thou hast had five husbands and he whom thou
now hast is not thy husband In that saidst thou truly
Comments: John 4:17-18 We
do not know if the Woman at the Well was widowed or divorced. Chances are good
that her fifth husband put her away without giving her a divorce settlement,
thereby leaving her in marital limbo, which prevented her from marrying. If she
had been divorced at any time in her past, Jesus acknowledged her marriages as
legitimate. He did not stigmatize her for being married five times, though he
did not legitimize her current living arrangement.
19: The woman saith unto him Sir I perceive
that thou art a prophet 20: Our fathers
[invisible women x’s
2] worshipped
in this mountain and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men
ought to worship
Comments: John 4:19-20 It
goes without saying, that in this passage the woman refers to her ancestors, both
her foremothers as well as her forefathers worshipped, but who is pictured in reader’s
minds when all ancestors are called “fathers?” Who is pictured in the minds of
readers when translators translate all people as “men?” Males are pictured,
rendering women invisible. Gender-biased-translation is the case with most
every Bible translation. This must be addressed and corrected.
Though a social outcast, otherwise she would not be drawing water at high
noon when none of the other women would be at the well, the Woman at the Well
is obviously interested in the things of God. As soon as Jesus spoke of
spiritual matters, she immediately launches into a theological debate.
21: Jesus saith unto her Woman believe me
the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain Amos 5:1 nor yet at
Jerusalem worship the Father 22: Ye worship ye know not what We know what
we worship for salvation is of the Jews
Comments: John 4:21-22
Jesus stopped the debate by telling her the Law of Moses, that required worship
to take place in the Temple at Jerusalem, would soon be abolished. When he said
that salvation is through the Jews, it was an unapologetic reminder that the
scriptures foretold that Messiah would descend from the line of Judah.
23: But the hour cometh and now is when
the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the
Father seeketh such to worship him 24: God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in
spirit and in truth 25: The woman saith
unto him I know that Messias cometh which is called Christ When he is
come he will tell us all things 26: Jesus saith unto her I that speak
unto thee am He
Comments: John 4:23-24
We worship by the Holy Spirit, by the Truth of HIS WORD, through
faith in the RISEN SON OF GOD, who is TRUTH personified. Jesus said he was the
only way, the only truth, and the only life, and that no one could come
to the Father except through Him. Jesus died for the sins of all, so
that all could be saved, but not all will be saved.
John 4:25-26 The Woman at the Well
was looking for Messiah. She was a woman of faith. The first record we have of
Jesus verbally revealing his identity to anyone, is to a woman. Though history
and gender-biased-Bible-translators have tried to render women invisible, Jesus
never did. Our Creator went out of his way to obliterate sinful gender-based
hierarchies and double standards. Jesus made a point to let women and his male disciples
know that his female creation was every bit as important, relevant, and autonomous as his male creation, and needed to be publicly treated as such.
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